Namahage museum

On March 20, hubby and I went to see Namahage museum located in Oga peninsula in Akita prefecture. Namahage festival is an event passed down from ancient times around Oga peninsula. Namahage is the name of a strange deity resembling a demon (ogre) known as oni. Namahage festival is a new-year eve ritual and is an old and important folk-cultural event. This festival has been designated as a national important intangible folk cultural property. Namahage, played by young men in demonic masks and traditional straw garments, make the rounds of houses in their village. They burst into these houses searching for new members like young wives and children. In a throaty scream, the Namahage order these newcomers to work and study hard, and obey their parents or in-laws. Other household members protect their relatives, assuring the Namahage that they are good people. The Namahage are then placated with sake and food. In the month of February, another festival known as Namahage-Sedo festival takes place in Shinzan shrine in Oga every year. This festival is carried out as a tourist event that combines the Shinto shrine Sedo festival and the Namahage folk festival.

Oga rest and service area
Since hubby and I were unable to attend Namahage as well as Namahage-Sedo festivals this year, we decided to visit Namahage museum to experience the folklore of the Namahage. The entrance of Oga city was about one hour car drive from our home. At the entrance of the city there was an amazing rest and service area called Oga sogo kanko annai jyo. Just outside the rest area building, next to the national highway, there were two enormous fifteen meters high Namahage statues welcoming the people to Oga city. It is one of the main attractions of the city.

Namahage statues at the entrance of Oga city

Me standing with the Namahage statues

Inside the rest area building, there were many sight-seeing guidebooks and pamphlets. There was also an exhibition area where life sized Namahage were exhibited. Many cute small Namahage were also on display.

Hubby standing with life sized Namahage exhibits

Cute small Namahage

Namahage museum

Namahage museum was another 30 minutes drive from the entrance of Oga city. Outside the Namahage museum, surrounded by tall Japanese cedar trees, was an enormous ten feet sphere decorated with a mosaic over its surface. This is called the Namahage ball (Namahage no tama in Japanese) and was installed outside the museum in July 1999. This art symbolizes Oga seas, mountains, night sky, and the Namahage.

Namahage ball

The building of Namahage museum looked very interesting and beautiful from outside.

Namahage museum

Inside the building, there was a room called ‘shinpi no hall’ where we could acquaint ourselves with the nature and culture of Oga. Traditional local tools and other items were displayed in this room. A computerized information retrieval system was also provided.

Display of traditional local tools of Oga

Next, we visited the Namahage exhibition room known as Namahage seizoroi. In this room, masks and costumes of sixty former districts of Oga were displayed. This showed that Namahage were portrayed in many different ways.

Namahage exhibits

After this, we visited the Namahage densho hall (legend theater), and saw a fifteen minutes short documentary film about the authentic story of Namahage.

Namahage densho hall

There was also a Namahage costume booth where we could try on the Namahage costumes. I put on only the mask and did not get an opportunity to wear the straw coat as there were many visitors trying to change into a Namahage demon :). I was unaware at that time that the red mask represents a male ogre while the blue mask is symbolic of a female ogre. I put on a red mask!

Red Namahage mask

Me wearing red Namahage mask

Hubby took several photos of me while I walked around the museum enjoying various kinds of Namahage displays.

Me standing next to a Namahage statue

Me standing next to a board displaying various types of Namahage masks

Me standing next to a painting of Namahage festival

We saw a craftsman making a Namahage mask out of Japanese cedar wood. It was amazing to see his expertise in making the mask.

A craftsman making a Namahage mask

Oga Shinzan folklore museum

Next, we visited Oga Shinzan folklore museum, which was located adjacent to the Namahage museum. Here we enjoyed a summary of the Namahage ritual performance in a traditional home atmosphere. This show can be enjoyed year-round. The show was captivating and the talk between the Namahage and the household head was funny. The folklore story of the show was as follows. On new-year's eve, Sakidachi (female ogre) banging on wooden pails with kitchen knives and the Namahage (male ogre) holding a sacred staff with strips of attached paper, went around visiting the houses at night, and danced along as they gave out strange cries. They shouted out menacing cries such as "Any children crying or disobeying their parents?" and "Any lazy daughters-in-law neglecting their work?" The Namahage stomped around the house and eventually settled down near the fireplace. The Namahage were received by the head of the family in formal dress, who offered them sake and mochi rice cakes. Appeased by the warm hospitality, they took leave of that house, promising that the family will be blessed with good health and a rich bumper crop in the new-year, and then set off to visit the next home. Namahage are believed to chase away bad luck and evil spirits with their loud voices and noisy actions. We really enjoyed the show. Hubby took a short video of the show, when the Namahage deities very noisily entered the house.

Oga Shinzan folklore museum

A short video of the show

Household head offering food to the Namahage

Household head offering sake to the Namahage

Shinzan shrine

Finally, we visited Shinzan shrine located on mount Shinzan. This shrine is one of the most revered on the peninsula and is deeply associated with the Namahage rites. Every year in February, the Namahage-Sedo festival is held in this shrine.

Shinzan shrine

Inside the Shinzan shrine

Hubby and I enjoyed our visit to Oga peninsula and learned about Namahage festival and folklore culture of Oga.

Shinzan shrine naked pilgrimage festival

Hadaka Matsuri (naked festival) is a type of Japanese festival where participants wear a minimum amount of clothing, usually just a Japanese loincloth, and do vigorous things. Such clothing is considered to be above vulgar and on the level of holy Japanese shrine attire. Naked festivals are held in several places throughout Japan every year, usually in the summer or winter. The Hadaka Mairi (pilgrimage) Matsuri held in Yurihonjo city of Akita prefecture is a winter festival where naked men brave the cold and snow and proceed to a rather distant Shinzan shrine. The naked men carry offerings to the shrine by walking through the snow. There are different opinions and sayings regarding the origin of the Hadaka Mairi Matsuri. One of the stories is that shugensha monks protected the Shinzan shrine by walking naked as a form of ascetic training and practice. Shugendo is an ancient Japanese religion in which enlightenment or oneness with god is obtained through the study of the relationship between man and nature. It is centered on an ascetic, mountain-dwelling lifestyle and incorporates teachings from koshinto, buddhism, and other eastern philosophies including folk animism. Monks following shugendo religion are known as shugensha. The monks prayed for the toughness of body, the safety of homes, the happiness of the families, and bumper crops in the fields. Every year the monks went to the shrine to display in front of the god the results of their training, practice, and the growth of　their mind and body.
Around the Shinzan shrine area, every year people volunteer and take turn to be the caretaker of the festival. About 300 young men wearing hachimaki (bandana), fundoshi (traditional Japanese male loincloth), tabi (traditional Japanese socks), and waraji (traditional Japanese straw rope sandal) gather at the house of the caretaker at the crack of dawn on the festival day and then walk up to the Shinzan shrine in batches of about 20-30 men, where each batch represents a particular locality of the nearby region. In the bitter cold dawn of the festival day, these young men first undergo a ritual purification by pouring cold well water on their body and then climb up to the Shinzan shrine by blowing conch shells and chanting (shouting) the words ‘joyassha’ ‘joyassha’. The shouts and chants of ‘joyassha’ are meant to repel the devil on the way to the shrine. It is believed that the naked men purify their body and mind by chanting this word repeatedly. The young men walk a distance of about two kilometers and climb the 103 steps to the shrine that is located at a mountain-top. They carry giant mochi (rice-cake), large fishes, sake (liquor) barrel, and many other offerings to the god. These items are tied with ropes and slung beneath stout bamboo poles. Such poles are carried by the naked men on their shoulders. On their way to the shrine, the men visit three torii gates (traditional Japanese gates of shrines). In front of each torii gate, the men sing a prayer song for that particular torii. Finally after reaching the shrine, they go round the shrine three times and sing in front of the god ‘mede donayo, mede donayo, kono sonaye monowayo, kokononayo, yashiro niyo, oya, osame okunoyo’, which basically means ‘we will devote and offer these food items to you’. They also pray for the toughness of the body, safety and happiness of the families, and good crops in the fields. After that the naked men throw bit-sized mochi and oranges at the audience and visitors, and wish them a year of happiness and good luck.
Although it had been snowing heavily in the month of January, it was a clear day on the 18th of January, the Matsuri day. Hubby and me skipped attending the ceremony where the naked young men underwent purification by pouring well water on themselves. This is because the ceremony was held very early in the morning. We left our home at about 8.45 am and walked up to the shrine located at the mountain-top. It was very cold and the temperature was about -1 degree centigrade. Icicles had formed on some rooftops. There was snow everywhere on our way to the shrine. However, the major road leading to the shrine was cleared of snow for the festival.

Icicles on a roof-top


Snow everywhere


After walking for about 700 meters, we saw a group of naked young men chanting ‘joyassha’ and walking towards the shrine.

A group of naked young men walking towards the shrine


Hubby and me walked for another 30 minutes and reached the stairway leading up to the shrine. There were a lot of steps and I was tired after reaching about half way up the stairs.

Hubby and me climbed a lot of steps. The steps were very slippery.


Still many more steps to climb to reach up to the torii gate

After a bit of rest, we managed to reach up to one of the torii gate. The view from that height of the mountain was very beautiful. Many people took rest here. There were a few stalls selling hot sake to keep the body warm in the bitter cold. Here we saw another group of naked young men going up to the shrine. All the young men were full of energy, enthusiasm, and vigor. Hubby took a video of the men walking and chanting ‘joyassha’ ‘joyassha’. The men carried fishes, mochi, and sake on their shoulders.

A beautiful view of Yurihonjo city from the mountain


Young men blowing a conch shell and carrying food items on their shoulders up to the shrine


Young men carrying food items on their shoulders


Young men taking rest on their way to the shrine


Video of naked young men chanting 'joyassha' while walking towards the shrine

After enjoying the view and the festivities for 10 minutes, we climbed further up the stairway and reached another torii gate.

Me in front of another torii gate

The shrine was on the other side of the torii gate. There were many people around the shrine.

Shinzan shrine

A group of naked young men prayed inside the shrine while another group of naked men went round the shrine three times, sang a devotional song, and then waited for their turn to enter the shrine.

A group of young men prayed inside the shrine


Another group of young men waiting for their turn to enter the shrine and pray

The group praying inside the shrine came out after about five minutes and threw bit-sized mochi and oranges at all the audience. One of the mochi hit me on the forehead!

Naked young men coming out of the shrine


After some time, the group of young men who were waiting outside the shrine, started singing and chanting devotional songs. Then they made preparations to enter the shrine and pray to the god.

Group of waiting naked young men singing and preparing to enter the shrine

We enjoyed the festival mood for some time.

Me in front of the shrine


Hubby in front of the shrine

After about 20 minutes of enjoying the festivities, we left the shrine and started back on our way down the stairs. Just outside the torii gate near the shrine, we saw yet another group of naked young men waiting on the steps for their turn to pray inside the shrine. I saw a giant mochi, large fish, sake barrel, and the naked young men from a very close range.

One group of naked young men waiting on the steps outside the torii gate near the shrine


Giant Mochi as an offering to the god


A large fish as an offering to the god


Close up view of the large fish


Sake barrel as an offering to the god

After going down half the steps, we saw one more group of naked young men waiting for their turn to go up to the shrine. I saw that a few of the young men drank sake directly from a very big bottle! Everyone was in a gay and festive mood.

Yet another group of naked young men waiting for their turn to enter the shrine


The young men drank sake directly from a big sake bottle


A large fish as an offering to the god


Every year on the same day as the Hadaka Mairi Matsuri, a traditional market called Ishiwaki Kuranoichi is held in Yurihonjo. The traditional market sells items like vegetables, candies, pickles, food materials, and sake liquors. Ishiwaki area of Yurihonjo was a major strategic transit base for commerce during the reign of old feudal Kameda clan in the Edo period. We saw that the warehouse was crowded with many people to buy regional famous confectionaries and specialties. On this day, people were allowed to observe the traditional sake-making process in the liquor warehouse. Many people tasted and bought various kinds of sake. We skipped visiting the market as the place was very much crowded with people. We took the photo of the place from outside.

Ishiwaki Kuranoichi market


Sake liquor warehouse


Entrance of the sake warehouse

Hubby was very happy and relaxed in the cool weather. I took a photo of him standing at a bridge above the Koyoshigawa river. We reached home at about 2 pm.

Relaxed hubby

We enjoyed the Shinzan shrine Hadaka Mairi Matsuri very much.